Previously many types of games and training apparatus have been in use endeavoring to provide an effective teaching means or leisure time activity related to a particular sport. In most cases a ball is used in conjunction with a cable for retension, however, usually the ball is attached to a sliding element and then to the cable or it is captivated through the center with no striking object utilized at all.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 3,953,026 Gowins 27 April 1976 3,754,761 Pruss 28 August 1973 3,558,134 Hoitsma 26 January 1971 3,550,937 Wright, et al 29 December 1970 3,469,840 Kruzel 30 September 1969 ______________________________________
Gowins tethers a baseball that is attached to a sliding bushing along a guide wire. The wire is attached between a pair of frame members one having a spring loaded rebound board and the other a tension spring assembly. The tethered ball is hit by the batter striking the rebound board. The tension on the wire is accomplished by the use of an anchor bolt or the position of the supporting upright.
Pruss employs an inclined guiding string anchored on one end to a stake in the ground and on the other to a far end of a rod or some other solid object. A golf ball is attached to a ring which slides up the string when hit with a golf club.
Hoitsma teaches ball throwing techniques using a pair of spaced apart standards with a guide wire therebetween. A plurality of balls, fitted with diametrically extending sleeves of metal, are threaded on the wire and thrown teaching arm movements for improving accuracy. No bat or striking instrument is employed.
Wright attaches a basketball on a tubular guide which is slideably mounted on a track consisting of a line, cable or the like. The track is fixed on the floor on one end and the ceiling on the other. A stop, preferably made of a rubber block, limits the downward travel of the ball.
Finally, in patent '840 issued to Kruzel, a pitching and batting device is disclosed consisting of a traverse line between screw eyes to which a pulley is attached. A tethered baseball is attached to the pulley which is free to move along the line. One person pitches the ball at one end and a second person swings with a bat at the other end. The ball has enough length on the tether to closely simulate the natural flight path of a ball.